Field of the Invention
The present invention belongs to the field of fitting out cabins of means of passenger transport.
More particularly, the invention relates to a seat which can be converted into a bed which is particularly suited to the requirements of passenger cabins, for example aircraft cabins.
Description of the Related Art
Within the field of transporting people, it is known to offer a seat which can be converted during the journey to passengers who have to make a relatively long journey so that the passenger can choose between a seated position and a relaxed position, where the relaxed position can correspond to a lying flat position.
A chair which can be converted into a bed proves to be a particularly advantageous solution when the length of the journey makes it relatively uncomfortable to remain in a seated position throughout the journey and when the journey is nevertheless sufficiently short not to justify individual cabins.
This type of solution is found, for example, in the cases of long-haul aeroplanes where a journey includes just one period of sleep and where there is often a very limited amount of space available.
This is also the case for some journeys by train, coach or boat, depending on the length of the journey.
It is known to produce chairs for which a combined movement of the seat cushion, the seat back and a leg rest positioning these different parts of the chair substantially horizontal in a same plane makes it possible to form a bed which may be extended by a bench fixed at the same height as the bed plane.
Such chairs which can be converted into a flat bed offer the desired comfort but, when a large number of them are installed in a passenger cabin, they entail a longitudinal distance between the seats (the cabin seat pitch) which is at least equal to the length of the bed obtained, and usually a greater distance when an occupant of a seat adjacent to another seat needs to access an aisle which is not next to them.
This type of comfort, which requires a lot of space, is hence reserved for luxury cabins and means that the number of seats which can be installed in a given cabin length is limited.
In order to increase the number of seats in a cabin whilst reducing the distance between seats, it is also known to limit the movements of the parts of the seat so as to bring the seat into a mean horizontal or highly inclined position but with the angles between the different parts (seat cushion and seat back, on the one hand, and seat cushion and leg rest, on the other hand) being maintained so as to obtain a profile in the shape of a flattened Z.
The saving in the length of the seat in this so-called “relaxed position” allows a cabin layout with a reduced seat pitch compared with the flat bed solution but it is less comfortable and is generally unsatisfactory for passengers in business or first class.
Another known solution for reducing the seat pitch in the case of a flat bed or a relaxed position consists in arranging a space beneath the seat in front of another seat, into which the occupant of the seat behind puts their feet.
However, this solution proves to be detrimental to comfort as it does not allow passengers to lift up their feet enough and, in the case of a flat bed, means that the bed is not horizontal but substantially inclined to the horizontal.
The fierce competition in the field of transport thus creates a difficult compromise between a cabin with seats having an integral and horizontal flat bed, which is commercially very attractive, and a cabin having more seats without such a flat bed, which is thus more profitable economically but less attractive commercially.